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West Brom confirm signing of Arsenal academy graduate

West Bromwich Albion have confirmed the signing of released Arsenal goalkeeper Brian Okonkwo after a successful trial period with the club.

Photo via WBA.co.uk

West Bromwich Albion confirmed this week that they’ve officially signed Brian Okonkwo, handing the youth goalkeeper a one-year deal after a successful trial.

Okonkwo played three times for the West Brom u21s as a trialist, including two Premier League 2 games against Aston Villa and Crystal Palace u21s. He kept a clean sheet in the latter of those two fixtures.

Formerly of Arsenal, the Gunners confirmed they were releasing Okonkwo earlier this summer. Thus it didn’t matter that the transfer window has long since closed, as Okonkwo was a free agent.

Even so, he’ll be glad to have put pen to paper and got some clarity about the coming months of his young career.

The player is set to remain with the u21s for the time being, though he’ll hope to prove himself and earn a longer contract as well as potential senior call-ups in the future.

Brian Okonkwo is the younger brother of fellow former Arsenal academy goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo, now of Wrexham. Brian made seven appearances for the Arsenal u21s and a further five for the u18s during his time in north London.